A quote request reaches us by email or through the enquiry form and is read the same day. The first thing we do is not price it. We check whether the request contains enough to price it accurately, which means the commodity and its HS code, the gross weight and dimensions or cubic metres, the collection point and the final delivery point, the Incoterm, the readiness date, and whether the goods are classified as dangerous. If those details are present, the enquiry goes straight to the desk that handles the mode. If they are not, we send one consolidated list of questions rather than several separate emails, because each round of questions costs a day.
The enquiry then goes to the specialist for the mode requested. Ocean enquiries go to Eissler Xiong, air enquiries to Turbe Tan, and rail and road enquiries to Dominic Wang. Splitting the work this way matters because the pricing logic differs by mode. Air freight is rated on chargeable weight, the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight, and a shipment that is light and bulky is priced on its volume. Sea LCL is rated on the greater of cubic metres or tonnes. FCL is rated per box, so the useful question is how many boxes of which size, not how many kilograms. Rail sits between the two and is usually compared against both. When a client is genuinely undecided, we price more than one mode so the comparison is on the same cargo and the same terms.
The Incoterm decides which costs belong in the quote at all, so we confirm it before quoting rather than assuming. Under EXW we are pricing collection, export clearance and everything after it. Under FOB the quote begins at the loading port and export clearance sits with the seller. Under DAP or DDP we are pricing the inland delivery at destination, and under DDP we are also pricing import duty and taxes, which cannot be estimated without the correct HS code and the destination country's duty rate. A quote issued against the wrong Incoterm looks cheaper and then produces charges nobody budgeted for, which is the most common reason a delivered cost differs from a quoted one.
Some enquiries need checks outside the rate itself. Dangerous goods need the UN number, proper shipping name, class and packing group before anyone can confirm the cargo is acceptable, since acceptance varies by mode and by route. Oversized cargo needs per-piece dimensions and weights so we can confirm the equipment. Cargo moving to or through a market with licensing or inspection requirements needs those confirmed before a date is promised. We would rather raise these at quotation stage than discover them at booking, because at quotation stage they are questions and at booking stage they are delays.
We answer quote requests within one business day. That commitment is operational rather than promotional: it requires the mode specialists to hold their own carrier and route knowledge, it requires the enquiry to reach the right desk on the first pass, and it requires us to send an interim reply when a rate genuinely cannot be confirmed within the day, stating what we are waiting on and when we expect it. A same-day acknowledgement with an honest outstanding item is more useful to a procurement team than a fast number that later moves.
What you receive back is a rate with its basis stated, the Incoterm it is built on, what is included and what is excluded, and the validity period. Charges that depend on events we cannot predict, such as customs inspection, demurrage or detention, are named as exclusions rather than hidden. If you want to test this, send the details above to joy@sztranseasy.com and you will have a response, or a clear statement of what is still needed, within one business day.
